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[GaryK]

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[daniel_reetz]

It's been proposed a couple of times but never built, as far as I know. The only problem that stands out, for me, is that moving the camera tends to vibrate things, so you'll need to account for that in your build. Otherwise, go for it!

[Mandor]

There was a commercial project with single (static) camera, mounted over the center of V-platen and three mirrors - two on left and right side and one (small) just under the camera. The small mirror is rotating at 90 degrees and redirect to left or right mirror.

[spamsickle]

There have been a couple of single camera designs using a pivoting platen/book, but I'm not aware of one using a pivoting camera that's actually been built.

http://www.diybookscanner.org/forum/vie ... ?f=1&t=175
http://www.diybookscanner.org/forum/vie ... ?f=1&t=925

And I think this might be the mirror system Mandor mentioned:

http://www.diybookscanner.org/forum/vie ... ?f=1&t=726

Frankly, if I were going to go with a one-camera system, I'd just build something standard and shoot a whole book's right pages, then move the camera and shoot the left pages. I actually shot that way a couple of times when one of my cameras failed. I think it will be faster and less problematic to do it that way than to turn a page and flip the camera (or the book) each time, but I have no real experience with either book flip or camera flip systems, so my hunch isn't worth much.

[Misty]

Like you said, Spamsickle, I think that would be the better way. I've used a single-camera scanner using the book-flip method - I scanned every even page, then flipped the book and scanned every odd page. One of the biggest challenges you'll face is consistent, correct camera positioning, which is crucial to reduce the amount of time you spend postprocessing the photos. It's probably not worth the amount of effort it would take to get the precision necessary to ensure the camera always returns to exactly the same position every time you finish pivoting.

I don't think you should underestimate the amount of time this will add to your workflow, either. The book-flip method is slow enough as is, and the camera pivot would increase the amount of time you're spending taking photos even further beyond that. It sounds like it would take a long time to finish imaging books that way.

[fatchuck]

I'm still a newbie, but approaching this from a different perspective, what if you're using a single 18 megapixel DSLR? I own a T3i (new library school present) that does 5184x3456 pixel images. At 300ppi, that's a 17.25" x 11.5" "scan", or two 8.5" x 11" pages in one shot. If it's completely stationary, the only needed moving part would be the platen.

Are there any single-cam setups with platens that could use a non-moving DSLR?

Chuck

P.S. Misty, I forgot to reply to your very thoughtful and helpful note, and then when I went to reply, my camera situation had changed (I no longer have the Panasonic FZ28). FYI, I love your simple scanning solution, but am hopelessly challenged by how to add an up-and-down platen to it for print items that weren't perfectly flat.